The oldest and most famous rally on the calendar provides a familiar start to this year’s extended 14-round schedule, which includes brand-new WRC events in the Canary Islands, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia.
There are also significant changes to the technical playing field for 2025. The top category of Rally1 cars will no longer use plug-in hybrid units following a regulation change. As a result, the minimum weight has been lowered from 1260 to 1180 kilograms and the air restrictor size reduced from 36 to 35 millimetres to help maintain a similar power-to-weight ratio to before. Meanwhile, Hankook becomes the sole tyre supplier for the WRC’s top categories for the first time.
There has also been a tweak to the sporting regulations. Points will once more be allocated based upon the overall positions at the end of the rally, with a win to again be worth 25 points. The Super Sunday classification on the final day now offers up to five bonus points, as does the rally-ending Power Stage.
While just eight weeks have passed since TGR-WRT claimed the manufacturers’ title in a thrilling conclusion to the 2024 season at Rally Japan, the team has been working hard to adapt to these changes and continue improving the GR YARIS Rally1, which continues to run on 100 percent sustainable fossil-free fuel. To reflect the different characteristics required of the engine now that the boost provided by the hybrid unit is no longer available, modifications have been made to the exhaust system and camshafts, while gear ratios have also been reviewed among other measures to optimise the package.
The team also fields a strengthened and expanded driver line-up this season, running as many as five GR YARIS Rally1 cars on many events including Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Double world champions Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen return to full-time competition alongside Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin, the 2024 championship runners-up. Sébastien Ogier will target a record-extending 10th victory on the Monte – which is based in his hometown of Gap in the French Alps – as he begins another partial campaign alongside co-driver Vincent Landais. These three crews are nominated to compete for manufacturers’ points for TGR-WRT on round one, ably supported by Takamoto Katsuta and navigator Aaron Johnston in a fourth entry.
Sami Pajari, the 2024 WRC2 champion, begins his first full season in the top category, for which he has reunited with experienced co-driver Marko Salminen. To best support his development while following a similar path to that previously forged by Katsuta, Pajari’s GR YARIS Rally1 is entered under a second team, TGR-WRT2, which will also add to the competition in the manufacturers’ championship. The car features a half-and-half white and black livery which represents the team’s commitment to offering opportunities for young drivers to reach the highest level in WRC.
Oliver Solberg, who fought Pajari for the WRC2 crown, switches to a GR Yaris Rally2 car run and entered by Printsport for his 2025 title bid and has the chance to gain familiarity with the car on Rallye Monte-Carlo before his seven-round WRC2 campaign begins. Also driving the GR Yaris Rally2 are TGR WRC Challenge Program drivers Hikaru Kogure and Yuki Yamamoto on their Monte-Carlo debuts, gathering new experience ahead of their second seasons in WRC2.
Known for its often-changeable weather conditions which can bring ice and snow to the asphalt roads, Rallye Monte-Carlo will as usual start and finish in Monaco’s Casino Square. Departing on Thursday afternoon, crews will then tackle three opening stages in darkness on the way back to the Gap service park. On Friday, a loop of three stages east and north of Gap is run either side of mid-day service. Saturday follows a similar format with three repeated tests to the west, including the all-new Aucelon – Recoubeau-Jansac stage. Sunday’s final leg begins from Gap, repeating two of Thursday evening’s stages ahead of the Power Stage, which takes in the iconic Col de Turini.
Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“It feels like the 2024 season has only just finished and now we are preparing for a new one to start with many new aspects. With the removal of the hybrid unit and the reduced weight, we’ve been working hard to optimise the car and find the right balance with the setup. I’ve had the chance to drive this new package myself and, even with less power, the performance is close to before and the car feels even more agile. We also welcome a new tyre supplier in Hankook. We can expect to see drivers who adapt to this change faster and are able to push the limits sooner. Rallye Monte-Carlo is the most challenging event in terms of tyre strategy given the changeable conditions. We experienced a mix of weather in testing including some snow, but the rally can always bring surprises. With our strengthened line-up this year we are confident that our drivers can be fighting for the top places on this event and for the championship titles. For his first full year in Rally1, we have entered Sami under a second team like we did previously with Takamoto, which can also bring an extra dimension to the manufacturers’ championship. While the main target for him on this event is to reach the finish and gain the experience, we hope to see him grow and develop during the year.”
Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“Starting a new season, the goal is as always to give our best to win. We have a strong team for 2025 and the target from my perspective remains to fight for rally wins and for the championship titles. With the introduction of a new tyre supplier and some changes to the technical regulations, there will be some adaptation and learning to do on all surfaces, but it’s the same for everyone and we just need to do the best job we can to be as ready as we can. Rallye Monte-Carlo is the event with the biggest choice of tyres available and with the limited testing allowed, it’s not possible to try the tyres in all the different conditions. It’s always an extremely challenging rally and adapting to the conditions and making the right calls at the right time will be as key as ever.”
Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s cool to be back with the team for a full season of WRC. It’s a different feeling getting prepared and excited for the full year and to fight for the title, which has to be our goal. Last year we were fast but this year we need to be more consistent through the whole year. Rallye Monte-Carlo is always a super difficult start to the season. It has never been my strongest rally but still we’ve managed to do a few good results there. I’ll be happy if we can have a clean rally and good points to start the season. Having a new tyre supplier will be quite a big thing, because everybody has to learn about the tyres in all types of conditions, and on the Monte you want to be able to feel confident in the car as soon as possible.”
Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“It’s always exciting for me to be preparing for Rallye Monte-Carlo, and to continue my relationship with TGR-WRT into another year. I’m still enjoying driving for this fantastic team, which I’ve now been with for longer than any other in my career, and I hope to have more fun in the car this year. With less power, less weight and new tyres there are a lot of question marks at the beginning of the season, and it’s a new challenge for the teams and the drivers to see who can adapt best. Even after many starts, this rally never gets any easier and I always go into it with respect for the challenge and in some way a little bit of fear, because you know you will face unpredictable conditions. It’s about trying to manage the risk, even more than on other rallies.”
Takamoto Katsuta / Aaron Johnston
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It’s the start of a new season with new expectations. I will try to keep the same speed as before and be more consistent: this is the main goal for me this year. Last season was difficult but I felt big support from the team and I learned a lot about how to manage those situations. I definitely feel that it made me stronger and this is a year to show what I learned. Monte-Carlo is one of the most difficult rallies in terms of the conditions, and it’s hard to prepare for everything in only one day of testing. We have to find the best setup to suit the different balance following the change in regulations, but my feeling is generally good with the car and with the tyres.”
Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“I have a really good feeling ahead of my first full season with a Rally1 car. We had a first taste of it last year and I’m really looking forward to getting started. With some new regulations and a new tyre supplier, there are some new things for everyone to get used to, which is interesting and quite exciting. So far, the feeling has been really nice in testing. For this first rally of the year in Monte-Carlo, the goal is maybe just to reach the finish with a good feeling. If the conditions are good then maybe we can increase the pace like we could do already sometimes last year, but I think we still need to gain a bit more experience before we can really be fighting for the top positions.”
